Go Together, Know Together: T minus 16 days

The launch of "Go Together, Know Together", our national couples HIV counseling and testing campaign, is set for Saturday, September 26th at Kyandondo Rugby Grounds. It's going to be a huuuuuge event, with free counseling and testing for couples, couple's karaoke, a couple's fashion show, other games, prizes, drama performances, a comedy show by Theatre Factory, and a concert with the Bobi Wines, the Bebe Cools, the Cindy's, the Radio and Weezil's and more. It's the kick-off to a 6-month campaign, and everyone's invited. Including you.

Jude (my "Go Together, Know Together" Program Officer partner in crime), our ad agency (Lowe Scanad) and I have been working around the clock for the last month to try and make this Uganda's launch of a lifetime. A quick look at some recent successes.

After the comical yet informative results of the pre-test, we came out with a logo that has been consistently met with roomfuls of unprompted "ooohs" and "aaaaahs" every time we present it.

The logo taken a step further and transformed into signage that we're going to use to brand all service delivery sites with trained counselors:
Around the clock is no exaggeration...my nights and weekends have been spent visiting restaurants, bars, movie theaters, bowling alleys, spas and gyms around Kampala, wearing some sort of public health-y "I do good for the world" t-shirt, smiling brightly, and pumping hands enthusiastically as I deliver my spiel and beg for prize donations as motivation for couples to test and receive their results together (only those that do are eligible to win prizes). It's working! I'm currently head over heels in love with the following Kampala establishments for their commitments to a successful event.

• Simba Telecom - 2 Nokia 600 Slide mobile phones (that retail around $225 each!)
• Golden Lily - 5 massages
• Kabira Country Club - Dinner for 2 with a bottle of wine, and 2 day passes
• Cineplex - 2 movie passes
• Garden City Fitness - 8 free gym entries
• Alleygators - 10 games of bowling
• New York Kitchen - 3 dinner gift vouchers
• Lotus Mexicana - 3 dinner gift vouchers
• Bubbles O'Leary's - Dinner vouchers

Also endorphin-inducing -- folks have overheard me doing my thang, piped up, and offered their services/contact information for the right people at their places of work, as well! A radio announcer from Capital FM offered free airtime, and Stanbic bank put me in touch with their marketing and communication folks.

We're on a roll. Now all we have to do is....print our training manual, participants' guide, and PowerPoint Slides, conduct our training of trainers, train counselors in 8 districts, produce and install the signposts at service delivery sites around the country, hold our photoshoot, get our billboards approved and up, make sure our posters, brochures, certificates for trained counselors, certificates for tested couples, provider flipchart, documentary, discussion guide, launch invitation, and launch flyers are endorsed, produced, and distributed, hold a media launch, get our radio spots produced, approved and on air, make sure our t-shirts, caps, and banners are ready, confirm our guest of honor, MCs, performers, prizes, game logistics, and day's agenda, finalize the objectives, key content, and discussion questions for 24 interactive radio programs, and orient our radio talk show hosts on the programs.

Eeks! Stay tuned...